Republican lawmakers turned sour on Wednesday after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) unveiled a last-minute spending bill to avert a government shutdown until March. The bill gave Congress members their first pay raise since 2009 and allowed them to opt out of the Affordable Care Act.
Rep. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) called Johnson a “weak, weak man,” decrying the 1,547-page spending bill, which includes several controversial items that are “full of pork.”
Under the new spending bill, Paul claimed the nation’s debt would continue to increase, resulting in the U.S. dollar to ultimately fail. He called Democrats “clueless” and “Big Gov” Republicans complicit.
“A sad day for America,” he said, adding that he had hoped Johnson would have grown a spine.
Meanwhile, Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fl.) joked that Republicans should start an OnlyFans account “considering how often we get screwed,” adding that the spending bill is a poor bargain.
Johnson defended his decision to greenlight the spending package during an interview on Fox & Friends, in which the hosts referred to the bill as “unserious” and likened it to a “dumpster fire.”
“Remember, guys, we still have just a razor-thin margin of Republicans. So, any bill has to have Democrat votes,” he said. “We’ve got to get this done because, here’s the key, by doing this, we are clearing the decks and we are setting up for Trump to come in, roaring back, with the America First agenda.
“That’s what we’re going to run with gusto beginning January 3, when we start the new Congress, when Republicans again wrench control and all of our fiscal conservative friends, I’m one of them, will be able to finally do the things that we have been wanting to do for the last couple of years,” he added.
Johnson explained that by passing the short-term funding measure before the deadline, the GOP could put “our fingerprints on the spending” come March— when the “ big changes start.”
Several other Republicans opposed the spending measure, including Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) call it a "Christmas CR lump of coal.”
On the contrary, however, not every Republican is against the spending bill.
House Appropriations Committee chair Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said that although the deal is not ideal, it ensures President-elect Donald Trump has a voice in shaping the final Fiscal Year 2025 bills.
“Importantly, it averts a costly government shutdown that would only serve to handcuff the start of his new administration,” he said. “This bill provides crucial relief for Americans recovering from these disasters, including those in my home state of Oklahoma, and also generates economic benefits for the nation. We have a responsibility to help our fellow citizens rebuild and restore, and this legislation demonstrates shared resilience and unity in the face of tragedy."